Rain
Rain, also known as Rainfall, was a form of weather based around liquid - usually water - precipitation. Rain was present throughout the series, with sections taking place in rainy environments in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2 and Legacy of Kain: Defiance; however it was only in its first appearance in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain that rain was treated as an environmental hazard due to the vulnerability of vampires such as Kain to water. Profile *'Name:' Rain *'Category:' recurring terms • Weather *'Introduced:' • Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) *'Appearances:' • • • *'Related Articles:' Water, Snow, Warped precipitation, Blood fountains Profile Rain was first seen in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and it could be encountered shortly after Kain began his vampire existence and ventured out from his mausoleum into the wider Nosgoth. A little while after Kain emerged into the daylight - usually at some point in the Cemetery - he would encounter his first rainfall as a vampire and commented on its ability to cause damage to vampires and the wisdom in seeking shelter. Like other weather types, rainfall was governed by a certain amount of chance and timing and it could thus be encountered in many locations. Rainfall was only risky to Kain for a short time as he was able to discover a blood fountain in a cave south of Steinchencröe which granted him immunity to the damage caused by rainfall. Thereafter rain could still fall at random intervals but it was largely harmless and was superseded by the more damaging Snow. Rain returned in later titles but it was largely scripted and atmospheric in purpose with no particular hazard or environmental concerns associated with it - it was also often permanently associated with a particular location or time period, unlike in Blood Omen. Rain could be seen in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver in several locations such as the Necropolis, Drowned Abbey and Nupraptor's Retreat where it continually rained. Rainfall returned in Soul Reaver 2 where a violent storm was shown throughout the [[Era following Blood Omen|Era following Blood Omen]], presumably as a demonstration of the consequences of the Collapse of the Pillars. Rain was last seen in Legacy of Kain: Defiance where a milder storm was the backdrop to Raziel's infiltration of Vorador's Mansion and seemed to be largely confined to that area. Notes Spear-metal.png|Consistent rain in the Soul Reaver beta Rahabslair16.PNG|Bugged rain in the retail version *''"Rainfall"'' is directly acknowledged in dialogue when it is first encountered by Kain in Blood Omen with the blood fountain later referring simply to "rain". It is also mentioned in Blood Omen manuals, where it is detailed under the "weather" section as "Rain" and noted that it "causes slight damage". The Prima Guide only mentions rain in relation to the immunity Blood fountain and does not acknowledge it otherwise. In further titles rain is not mentioned in guides or manuals as it has no effect on gameplay, however some scenes are accompanied by dialogue or stage directions indicating rainfall - these give other similar terms for rain and related weather including "deluge" and "storm" On occasion the term "rain" is used more metaphorically, such as relating to arrows. *Rainfall was depicted in all its appearances simply as faint white lines which cross the screen, generally in a downward direction. Rain was often accompanied by occurrences of thunder and lightning - the latter of these were never directly observed and only the 'flashes' seen in the environmental lighting indicated their presence; Kain could gain a Lightning spell in Blood Omen (and use similar abilities in later titles) but it did not summon rain along with it. *The Blood fountain which grants Kain immunity to rain is apparently incorrectly labelled in the Developers' level select - it is labelled as "INVS", while the fountain that gives immunity to snow is labelled as "INVR"; presumably this means the two were mixed up at some stage in development. Blood Omen Developers Level Select Page at The Lost Worlds (by Ben Lincoln). *The Rain appearing in Soul Reaver underwent some minor changes in the course of development; apparently causing a bug in the Playstation retail version of the game where rainfall only appears below an area diagonally across the center of the screen (with the same true of snowfall). This error does not appear in other versions of the game or the pre-release beta versions of the game. Beta Comparison - Versions at The Lost Worlds (by Raina Audron) See also *Water *Snow *Warped precipitation *Blood fountains References Category:Terms Category:Terms/Blood Omen Category:Browse Category:Blood Omen